Whoop is one of the most reliable fitness bands and straps on the market when it comes to computing a recovery score and tracking our sleep. There are many reasons for this, but the sensors are mainly to thank. Since the upgrade of Whoop 4.0, we have seen a number of improvements to the Whoop sleep tracking feature.
But it can be challenging to understand at times which is why we are doing a full breakdown of the Whoop sleep tracking. And, of course, because of the sleep tracking, we can get full recovery scores calculated. Let’s break this down too.
Sleep Stats That Matter
Whether you are a high-level athlete or just someone who cares about the quality of their life, understanding your sleep and quality of is important. Basic stats are provided, such as how much sleep you got the night before. But what Whoop does is something different. Whoop breaks down the quality of your sleep through the various stages.
What is tracked?
Let’s take a look at some of the major categories that are tracked.
Time in Bed
It’s not just about how much sleep you get; understanding the time you spend in your bed has an important effect on your recovery levels. This is “active resting.” It also will play a role in our efficiency and latency.
Disturbances
Whoop accounts for how many times you wake up. These are called disturbances. Based on active motion sensors and the ability of Whoop sensors to detect light, it can tell when you have been woken up at night.
Efficiency
Efficiency is calculated by the number of disturbances you have and how much time you are awake during your time in bed. Another critical factor that affects your quality of sleep.
Respiratory Rate
This is the number of breaths you take per minute while sleeping. A change in this number dramatically can signal health issues.
Latency
Interestingly enough, this will accurately tell us how long it takes you to fall asleep. We spend so much time thinking we take hours or minutes to sleep but understanding this metric can improve the quality of when we go to bed.
Sleep Stages
Along with the above, your sleep is broken down into different sleep stages. We need an appropriate amount of each stage to have a quality night’s sleep and physically and mentally recover.
- Light Sleep
- REM Sleep
- Deep SWS Sleep
How Sleep Need Is Calculated
With all of these stats being measured through multiple sensors on the wrist, your sleep need is calculated. It relies on a few different stats to give you a recommended time to go to bed based on the time you want to wake up and whether you want to perform high, medium, or just get by the next day.
It also will consider the quality of sleep the night before and the strain you have put on your body from this current day. The more strain and the less sleep you had from the night before, the higher your sleep needs and time in bed will be.
Read: Metrics that Matter – Whoop’s Best Features
Recovery
So, where does recovery come into all of this? Your sleep stats and strain directly impact your daily recovery score, which is calculated first thing in the morning.
What is a Recovery Score?
Your recovery score is based on a percentage of 0 to 100%. Technically speaking, you can’t hit 0 or 100. This is divided into three sections, from red to yellow to green, signaling how your body should proceed for strain the next day.
Red – Recovery 0-33%
Yellow – Recovery 34-66%
Green – 67-100%
Based on your percentage, your Whoop will give you a recommended strain to not go past for the next day. This is to try and enhance your recovery for the next day.
You can even take advantage of live strain coach-mode so that when you track your workout, the Whoop will vibrate to let you know that you have surpassed or hit the recommended strain.
Factors That Are Included in Your Recovery Score
Now that we have considered how sleep is tracked and the recovery score, we can understand the factors that create a recovery score in general.
But it’s not what you think.
Recovery is based on several interesting stats tracked by Whoop.
- Heartrate
- Heartrate Variability
- Blood Oxygen Levels
- Respiratory Rate
- Skin Temperature
These numbers are taken 24 hours a day. They also create a rolling baseline over the last 90 days to constantly compare your average and change it based on the increase or decrease of health stats. When your body performs below or above that average, it creates a recovery score that reflects that.
And then, we look at factors like strain and sleep as the potential reasons these numbers may be out of sorts. Taking all the data together, Whoop computes all these different performance metrics that intertwine with one another.
All of this can be taken a look at through two different performance PDFs that Whoop gives you right in the personal app. The Weekly Performance Assessment gives you the week’s sleep, strain, and recovery stats. And then, you also get to see your Monthly Performance Assessment that accounts for the Whoop Journal as well.
While you’re here, why not take a look at how the Whoop Journal works?
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Brittany Collens is one of our top sports writers. She is also a professional tennis player which helps her authority on subjects such as health and fitness.
She has a degree in journalism and has previously written for well-established sports magazines in Massachusetts.
Brittany lives in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States.